Welcome back to Books With Cause! Let’s dive into my latest review: The Long Walk by Stephen King (writing as Richard Bachman). This dystopian classic pushes one hundred teenage boys to their limits in a brutal endurance test — and only one can survive.
Forty-six years feels like a long time. When you consider The Long Walk was published in 1979, it’s taken a long while to see this classic adapted on the silver screen. It feels like we live in a world where adaptation rights are sold before a book’s even published in the first place. Then you consider the fact that Stephen King is the greatest-selling author of all time. But let this book serve as a reminder of a different time.
If my research is correct, Stephen King claims that The Long Walk was the first novel he ever wrote and completed. Of course, it wasn’t the first published. That honour belongs to Carrie. What followed, after King’s initial success, was a brief experiment where he released a handful of books under a different pen name. The result has since been known as the Bachman books. King would go on to publish several books under the Bachman name, until said author reportedly died from cancer of the pseudonym.
The Long Walk is set in a dystopian version of the United States, which is trying to rebuild itself following a great war. As part of a new tradition, one hundred teenage boys take part in the eponymous event every year. They start together and must maintain a consistent speed. Anyone who falls under speed or stops gets a warning. Three warnings lead to death. They walk until they can walk no further. The last one standing not only wins, but they also keep their life, and they win whatever they want for the rest of their lives.
The protagonist of this novel is sixteen-year-old Ray Garraty. Before the walk, Ray lived alone with his single mother. His father was executed for his outspoken political opinions. He was murdered when Ray was very young, and much of that has shaped the person Ray has become. Ray takes part in the walk because he wants to make a better life for himself and his mother. Along the way, Ray makes friends with some of the other boys on the walk. None more so than Pete McVries. The two young men form an unbreakable bond over hundreds of miles. The biggest issue is the fact that they can’t both win.
Written almost thirty years before The Hunger Games, there are a number of similarities between the two stories. Perhaps none more so than the resilience and sheer desperation of young adults in a hideously unfair life who will do anything to better their lives. The major difference is that the boys in The Long Walk volunteer to take part, while the majority in The Hunger Games are selected against their will. It also seems fitting that Francis Lawrence is the man who finally got the honour of directing this adaptation. The same man who has directed most of The Hunger Games series.
As expected, there are differences between the novel and the movie. In the movie, the contestants are cut from one hundred to fifty. I think this is just a case of what works on the page doesn’t always work on the screen. One hundred people is a lot to keep tabs on. Even fifty feels like a lot to keep tabs on screen, and quite frankly, we can’t spend time with all these characters in less than two hours of screen time. It’s also worth noting that the ending is slightly different.
Ahead of time, I was concerned that the adaptation would look too modern. My fears were quickly allayed within minutes of the movie. Visually, the production of this movie is spectacular. There’s nothing to stand out and put on a date on when this is set. The clothes have no labels on them, and it creates a timeless look. It feels like watching a classic movie for the first time, and I think that a new viewer will get that feeling twenty to thirty years from now as well.
A special mention has to go to Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson, who play Garraty and McVries, respectively. Their onscreen chemistry is sublime, and it feels like they’ve been the best of friends for years. I personally would watch hours of them walking and talking. In conclusion, I implore anybody reading this. Go and read The Long Walk. Then go and see the Long Walk.
My Goodreads rating: ★★★★☆ (4 stars)
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